Bound To Shadows
by Swanna
Summary: Shu had no bonds, commitments or interests. There was very little that excited him anymore until Reiko dropped into his life. A vampire huntress hired by their father to be the Sakamaki brothers' new guardian. With their own inner demons to face, they tried to stay out of each other's way. But despite Shu's efforts of keeping his distance, attraction between them was still growing
1. Chapter 1: The New Guardian

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Diabolik Lovers. This amazing anime was created by Seiko Nagatsu. I only created Reiko and a few side characters.

 ** _Editor / Beta Reader: Waffle (Thank you)_**

 _Rated_ _ **Teen**_ _for violence, blood, coarse language and / or sexually suggestive scenes (rating_ _ **may**_ _change to Mature in the future as story progresses, readers have been advised)._

 **XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX**

 **Bound To Shadows**

 **By: Swanna**

 **XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX**

 **Chapter 1: The New Guardian**

 **New York, USA**

Dusk was falling, casting long, dark shadows at every corner of the bustling downtown streets. Reiko stood at the corner of a secluded alleyway as she watched her target entering the splendid two story nightclub, Eclipse, through a pair of towering glass doors. Dance music drifted down the boulevard from the club's rooftop, signaling that the nightly revelry had already begun.

Eclipse was quite a popular rendezvous for both humans and vampires. Young mortals came for varying reasons, from seeking a good time with their friends to hooking up and spending the night with complete strangers. But immortals came here for one purpose only - a quick meal. Places crowded with youthful humans attracted vampires like moths to a flame, and Eclipse was no different.

Reiko took out her mobile phone from her back pocket and speed-dialed her partner. "He went inside the building. I'm going in."

"Do you need me for back up?" asked her Japanese-American partner, Tashiro Nicholas.

The twenty-two year old man also happened to be her roommate, which turned out to be rather convenient since they were both in the same line of business as rogue hunters. At least Reiko didn't have to fabricate some far-fetched lies about her graveyard shifts that required her presence only after dusk; or give an explanation as to why she would return home all bloody and wounded at the crack of dawn from time to time. Those were only some of the perks that came with sharing an apartment with another fellow vampire hunter.

"Didn't we just recently have a talk about you doubting my ability? Your memory is definitely getting worse by the day," Reiko chided with harmless humor.

Two passing teenage boys wolf whistled Reiko as they walked past the young female with pale silver hair and sapphire blue eyes. The hair was a real pain in the butt. According to her sometimes friend Nicholas, she might as well wear a sign announcing her presence. Reiko put on the hoodie attached to the black cropped sweatshirt that she was wearing and pulled it down to her nose. Now it totally intensified the malodorous ambiance of this humid part of New York City.

Nicholas gave a deep chuckle on the other line. "Just trying to help. I have to make sure my partner will return in one piece since I can't afford our place and pay for the rent all by myself."

"Nice try but you aren't going to talk your way out of it. As per our agreement, dinner will be on you tonight," Reiko replied as she crossed the empty road and walked towards the entrance of the nightclub.

"Sure. I saw a burger place just down the block earlier. We can go there once work is over."

She gave a quick glance to her left and noticed the stretching row of patrons waiting in line to enter the building. "No. We are going to a fancy restaurant where I can wine and dine like you promised."

"So you want a date night with me. Are you trying to come onto me, roomie? I don't know if I'm ready to complicate our relationship so soon," Reiko could almost hear the amused laugh in his voice.

"Keep talking and I will pound you to the ground later." This time Nicholas laughed out loud. "I'm entering the club now."

"Alright, keep me posted," with that, Nicholas disconnected the call.

Reiko slipped the phone back into her back pocket and approached the tall, heavy-looking bouncer by the doors. There was no way in hell she would go through that extensive line to go inside. Her target would have been long gone and moved to his next destination by then. She knew the exact method to cut in line right away.

"You," the bouncer began sternly, pointing at Reiko and then to the crowd. "Wait in line like the rest of them."

"Think I can change your mind?" Reiko put on her charming smile and slipped a hundred dollar bill into his raised hand discreetly. It was a small price to pay. After completing the mission, she would be paid out a generous bounty anyway.

His serious face relaxed as he eyed her up and down with a grin. "Sure. Anything for you, sweet thang."

Reiko wanted to roll her eyes when she noticed the man was now checking out her behind. Men couldn't be any more obvious with their perverted thoughts, could they? She moved past the bouncer and was about to enter, when she felt a smack on her butt.

Annoyed, Reiko froze when she heard the bouncer chuckling. Under normal circumstances, she would have beaten him to a pulp already. But right now certainly wasn't the time to be sidetracked, so she decided to let it slide. The idiot should consider himself lucky for being able to walk away unharmed. For now.

Without turning around, Reiko continued walking and entered the expensive looking dance club. The interior was extremely spacious, tall, and lacked any windows. The high ceiling, marble tiled floors, walls and various other accenting features were installed with blue LEDs. The architectural design appeared to be trendy and contemporary. Ear-piercing dance music was playing from the surrounding speakers, with people moving rhythmically to the music on the dance floor.

With her increased vision, Reiko gave the loaming place a quick scan and was able to locate her target in almost no time. He sat by the counter and was chatting up a female bartender, obviously setting his predatory eyes on her. Too bad for this young vampire, he was about to end his night on an empty stomach. Reiko removed her hood and her hair tumbled down her shoulders in waves of silver, distinctive and bright. This wasn't too much of a risk to stand out in crowd, at least not tonight. She wanted to attract his attention for sure.

Reiko walked up to the target and stood relatively close enough to him as she ordered a drink. "One Red Sangria please."

She allowed the vampire to have his fun as he roved his hungry gaze over her body with evident appreciation before turning her head to him.

"Hi," Reiko said with a smile that men would find sensual.

"Hello," he replied, looking delighted.

She knew what he saw. A defenseless lone human girl who was dressed in a way that screamed for male attention; a pair of skintight dark blue jeans, formfitting cropped black hoodie that revealed her toned abdomen and no visible weapons. Definitely meeting the checklist of a potential female victim on a vampire's menu. The image made him loosen up.

"You don't come here often, do you?" she asked, trying to strike up a conversation with him first.

He shook his head once. "No. How did you know?"

Reiko thanked the bartender when she delivered her drink and then answered, "Because I come here often myself. I don't remember seeing you here before."

"There are so many people here. How can you remember who you've met every night?" he asked, sounding intrigued.

"Oh trust me, I would definitely have remembered you," Reiko replied before taking a sip from her alcoholic drink.

Reiko picked up the stemmed cherry from her glass. She deliberately darted out the tip of her tongue, licking the bottom of the cherry before devouring it in a slow, methodical way. The vampire watched her every movement, his unwavering gaze darkened.

"Hey," Reiko started again, gliding closer to him and whispered softly into his ear. "What do you say that we leave this place and enjoy ourselves elsewhere?"

"Where do you have in mind?" he questioned while sniffing the fragrance on her hair.

"Anywhere as long as we can have some privacy."

He seemed to be pleased with her answer and took her hand. "Come."

Reiko let him guide her through the dance floor and out of the club through an emergency side exit. They were outside a grimy, narrow lane that was an apparent alleyway. As soon as the door closed behind them, he shoved Reiko up against the wall and trapped her there; his hands were sliding down to her waist.

"You like to play rough, huh?"

He lowered his head until his face was dangerously close to her neck. She could feel his fangs grazing her skin already. "You have no idea."

"Trust me when I say I do," Reiko smiled genuinely for the first time, "But that's good. Because I like to play rough too."

Right when he was about to sink his teeth into her neck, Reiko teleported out of his grasp and reappeared right behind him, startling him. Before his mind could even process what had happened, Reiko was already reaching forward and snapped a metallic choker around his neck. Shocked, the vampire started clawing at the device.

"Uh-uh," Reiko wagged her finger at him disapprovingly. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, not if you want to keep your head intact anyway."

The vampire's eyes bulged. "What the fuck is this?!"

"I'd like to call it the vampire collar, but you can think of it as a small-scale time bomb. If you take it off by force, _kaboom_. If you don't get this unlocked by a special key in the next forty five mins, _kaboom_. If you misbehave and I have to press this button on the detonator," Reiko held up a small electronic remote and flashed it at his nose. "… _Kaboom_. Well, you get the picture."

He stood rigidly in place, fear was skittering across his face. Reiko would have felt sorry for this young vampire if she hadn't known he'd killed six humans in the course of the past month. That was unacceptable. Reiko may have shared their vampirism but even she had her limits. She wouldn't hesitate to use any and all force necessary to capture this target.

Unfortunately for this vampire, two of his victims' rich father had put a handsome bounty on him for slaughtering his daughters. Instead of executing him on the spot, Reiko had been ordered to bring the vampire back to him alive. The man was probably planning to carry out his own form of punishment as revenge. Who could blame him? You reap what you sow, after all.

Reiko made a quick call to Nicholas and notified him that she had apprehended the vampire, and instructed him to wait for her by the front entrance. Now that she had made sure this vampire understood her willingness to hurt him, she smiled.

"Follow me."

Aghast, the vampire followed along like an obedient puppy on an invisible leash. Damn, but she loved the chokers. It never failed to work its magic on these impure vampires. Since these turned vampires were once humans, their strength and abilities weren't as strong as pureborn ones. To some extent, the device made it easier to subdue them without engaging in bloody combat.

Reiko spotted Nicholas' black car and saw him getting out of the driver's seat. She opened the passenger door and turned to the vampire. "Get in."

Nicholas made sure their captive was well belted in at the back of the car before locking him inside. He was about to make a comment but Reiko interrupted him.

"Hang on," she spun around and strode towards the bouncer, who instantly brightened at the sight of her.

"Hey babe, leaving so soon?"

Wordless, Reiko smiled and kneed him in the groin unexpectedly, causing him to groan and double over in excruciating pain. "That was for what you did earlier."

With that being said, she then turned on her heels and returned to Nicholas' side again. He rose an eyebrow at her questioningly.

"What? He smacked my butt."

"The nerve of that man!" Nicholas feigned a shocked expression and gasped exaggeratingly. "I didn't even have a chance to do that yet. If I ask nicely then can I smack your butt too?"

"Only if you don't intend to keep your hand after," her threat induced an animated laugh from him.

"Oh by the way," Nicholas fished something out of the inside of his blazer pocket and handed it to her. "You've had a couriered letter delivered to our apartment today."

"A couriered letter?"

Reiko couldn't help but wonder what kind of urgent document was so important that it needed to be delivered to her in such a haste. She took the midnight black envelope from Nicholas. The dark color of the envelope definitely enhanced the overall ominous feeling it gave off. She flipped the enclosure over and saw the bright red wax seal at the back. Frowning, she opened the letter and the first thing that drew her undivided attention was the signature of the sender's name at the bottom of the page.

 _Karlheinz._

 **X X X**

 **Tokyo, Japan**

The gentle breeze carried along the scent of spring throughout the forest on the cold night. The smell of blossoms that wafted from the open glass windows combined with the aroma of fresh blood, and seeped into the living room where Shu was resting. He had no doubt that the scent was coming from the human girl, Yui's bedroom.

 _Ayato is taking her blood again_ , Shu surmised with his eyes closed. The earbuds attached to his MP3 player was still inserted in his ears.

Since the knowledge of the origins of Yui's heart was exposed into the open, the triplets were evermore possessive of her. Especially his third brother, Ayato, who was bordering on being overprotective of the girl. He had even spent a substantial amount of time with her in either his or her bedroom on a nightly basis. Why Ayato was so peculiarly infatuated with her somewhat bemused Shu. Besides the fact that Yui had the heart of the triplets' deceased mother Cordelia inside her, she was just like any other ordinary human girl at school.

Yes, Shu couldn't deny the truth that he had been drawn to her blood just as much as the rest of his brothers when she had first become the property of Sakamaki's household. But shortly after they had unearthed Cordelia's scheme to be resurrected through Yui's body with the transplanted heart, Shu had lost his interest in drinking her blood.

He had been annoyed to realize that his only one compulsion in the past decade had somehow ended up linking back to the Sakamaki family once again. It was almost as if he was meant to be tied down to this household endlessly; whether Shu liked it or not, it was his inescapable fate.

"When are you going to pry yourself off from that sofa and start acting like the real master of this mansion?" Shu didn't have to open his eyes to know that the disapproving complaint was coming from his younger brother, Reiji.

He didn't understand why Reiji wouldn't put a stop to his needless criticism. It wasn't like his brother didn't know about Shu's lack of interest in taking care of the household. Reiji had been doing a fine job without him anyway, it would have been much better to keep everything the way it was. His silent demeanor seemed to have irritated Reiji further and just when his brother was about to cross the room to him, he felt another presence in here.

"Master Reiji," a deep voice greeted.

Shu didn't move a muscle when he heard faint footsteps approaching over the violin music playing in his ears. He cracked one eyelid open when he felt a light tap on his shoulder. Masato Sawada, their immortal butler stood above Shu's lying form with a mobile phone in his gloved hand.

"Master Shu, there is a phone call for you," when Shu showed no attempt to move from his current position, Masato continued. "It is from Master Karlheinz."

Reiji appeared to be more wired up by the unexpected announcement than Shu was when he quickly strolled over to stand beside the butler. After a moment of hesitation, Shu sighed wearily as he swung his legs over the seat and forced himself into an upright sitting position. With a lift of his arm, Masato took the cue and placed the mobile phone into Shu's outstretched hand.

He removed one side of his earbuds and pressed the phone snuggly against his ear. "Speak, I'm here."

While Shu was half concentrating on what the man on the other line had to say, he was fully aware of his brother's prying stare burning into him. Reiji's curiosity was evident but he was also bothered by the fact that their father had chosen to speak with the eldest brother in the family once again. Reiji made it no secret that he'd always wanted to take over Shu's position as the master of the household.

Without a word, Shu disconnected the call. As soon as he passed the phone to Masato, Reiji eagerly asked, "What did he say?"

Shu looked up at his brother and gave a nonchalant answer, "We are getting a new guardian."

Reiji's brows furrowed together in complete confusion. He was about to ask more questions but held his tongue when Shu plugged in his earbuds again. Shu lay back down on the sofa and closed his eyes when he heard his brother spitting out the word _worthless_ angrily before storming out of the room. Masato dismissed himself shortly after. As soon as Shu heard the door close, he opened his eyes again.

 _Why a new guardian?_ He asked inwardly while his gaze was fixed on the ceiling, his own mild curiosity was budding. _What are you up to this time?_

 **X X X**

 **AUTHOR NOTE:**

Hello readers, thank you reading my new Diabolik Lovers story. The fic will take place after Diabolik Lovers series but before More Blood. However, I will still be including the Mukami brothers in here.

I knew about Diabolik Lovers through online images, saw the lovely artwork and I was totally in love with Shu. It was very disappointing that there wasn't English translation to the game otherwise I would have loved to play all the guys' routes. Luckily there was the anime version to satisfy me (not by much though) in the meantime.

Special thanks to **Waffle** who will be my beta reader (he's my beta reader for all my stories, what a poor dude).

Lastly, please feel free to let me know what you think of the story. All comments and feedback will be welcomed. Thanks in advance!

See everyone in the next chapter.


	2. Chapter 2: The Family Meeting

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Diabolik Lovers. This amazing anime was created by Seiko Nagatsu. I only created Reiko.

 ** _Editor / Beta Reader: Waffle (Thank you)_**

 _Rated_ _ **Teen**_ _for violence, blood, coarse language and / or sexually suggestive scenes (rating_ _ **may**_ _change to Mature in the future as story progresses, readers have been advised)._

 **XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX**

 **Bound To Shadows**

 **By: Swanna**

 **XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX**

 **Chapter 2: The Family Meeting**

It was in the early evening and the day was winding down, with the golden-orange sun already sinking behind the mass forest. Normally at this time of the day, Shu would have still been resting in bed until it was time for Reiji to barge into his room, pestering him to attend school with his brothers. Unfortunately for him, Reiji had decided to hold a brief family meeting to discuss the new information that he'd compiled.

Since that phone call two weeks ago, Reiji had taken the matters into his own hands and launched a private investigation on this newcomer. Shrill curiosity had been irking Reiji. He'd been hankering for a satisfactory exposition as to why a guardian was suddenly assigned to them, and specifically why this particular individual was chosen.

Shu had to admit that he was somewhat curious the moment he'd received the call, but not to the extent of troubling himself over it. Regardless of what their father was scheming, this guardian would only turn out to be another watchdog. Just like many other servants in the Sakamaki household.

Even if Shu didn't propose any deliberate actions against their new guardian, his ruthless brothers would still take on the initiative to break this watchdog's spirit and bend the individual to their will. Shu wondered what kind of reaction their father would have when he discovered his minion was instead their slave. Nothing was more entertaining for Shu than witnessing that man stew in dissatisfaction. The thought alone brought a curve to his lips.

Subaru, the youngest son of the Sakamaki household was the first to break the silence. With his arms crossed and leaning against the wall casually, he clicked his tongue in annoyance and said, "Reiji told us to gather here but he's not even here himself!"

"How much longer do we have to wait? Teddy is growing tired," The fourth son, Kanato whined as he held his inseparable teddy bear in his lap.

"Patience is the key to paradise," Laito, the fifth son commented while keeping himself preoccupied and threw the red dart at the board. He barely missed the bullseye. "A virtue that all of you are obviously lacking."

"Shut up!" Subaru snapped, pushing himself away from the wall and standing next to the billiard table. "And why isn't Ayato here either?!"

"I'm here," Ayato announced as he walked in with a blue file in his hand. Yui was trailing closely behind.

Shu could smell the stench of blood and sex in the air the instant they entered the entertainment room. His brothers couldn't have missed the scent of it either; Subaru crinkled his nose in disgust, while Laito ogled her and smirked in a bawdy manner that suggested he was fully aware of what they had been doing. Embarrassed, Yui blushed and lowered her head to avoid eye contact with them.

Ayato was so cocksure of his brothers' recognition of his own power and control over his possession, he continued without care of the looks they threw at him, "Reiji is tied up at the moment preparing some last minute arrangements for the arrival of our new _guest_ and can't come. Since we have school later, he told us to start without him and he will join us as soon as he's done."

"Then start! We could have started earlier if you two weren't screwing like rabbits," Subaru retorted bitterly, causing the girl's cheeks to blush a redder shade.

Ayato flashed him a cocky grin, "Are you jealous?"

Subaru's anger rose. "AS IF!"

Just when Yui attempted to walk past Laito towards the sofa, he put his hands on her hips and pulled her against him, startling her. "Not so fast, little bitch. You should let me have some fun with you too. I can give you pleasure like you've never experienced before."

It was obvious that Laito was trying to get under Ayato's skin, and the hothead fell for it. "Laito, if you don't remove your hand, I will cut it off!"

Laito's smirk grew at the challenge and brought his hand to her face, tilting her head until her bare neck was exposed to him. "I can smell your sweet scent in the arteries of your neck. It makes me want to bite down hard so your blood will gush out."

"I said keep your hands off her!" Ayato rushed towards Laito and growled at him, grabbing his forearm forcibly enough to affirm that he wasn't making empty threats.

Yui took the fleeting opportunity to escape from the younger brother's grasp and stumbled down next to Kanato on the love seat.

"Teddy, she's really stinking up the place, isn't she? Maybe we should scrub her clean with steel wool," Kanato's grisly suggestion made the girl widen her eyes in fear.

"Ayato, stop hogging the little bitch to yourself. Let us have a go at her too," Laito suggested with a visible pout.

"Speak for yourself. I'm not interested," Subaru quickly opposed the idea, as if sharing a human girl amongst his brothers was outrageous and he refused to partake in it.

Ayato flung Laito's arm away from him, irritated. "She belongs to me, only I can to do anything I want to her!"

From the corner of his eye, Shu noted the hurt on Yui's face was crystal. Just what exactly was she expecting? When she'd first arrived at the mansion, they'd only considered her livestock for the six of them to take turns feeding on. She should be grateful that she was being treated like an exclusive toy by Ayato now.

Spent and not wanting to see that expression any longer, Shu finally spoke up. "You're all so loud, it's getting really annoying. Just get this talk over with quickly and leave so I can go back to sleep."

Ayato spun his head to face him and gave him a frustrated scowl. "No one forced you to join us. You can crawl back to your bedroom if you want to sleep so badly!"

Disinterested, Shu held the right side of his temple with his fingers, his elbow resting on the chair's armrest as he lazily glanced up at his idiotic brother. "I was here first before you guys barged into the room."

"I want to get this over with too," Subaru agreed without hesitancy. Out of the five younger brothers, Shu and Subaru surprisingly had the least dispute with each other despite the fact that they weren't born from the same mother. "I've wasted enough time waiting around for you and Reiji to show your asses."

"Fine, alright. Let's get on with it then," said Laito when he turned to Ayato, a dart was still held in his hand. "What did Reiji find out?"

Pinning the men with a glare, Ayato tossed the file onto the billiard table. A few papers and a photo slipped out of the folder. Laito went straight for the picture. He seemed more than pleased with what he was looking at when the corners of his lips slowly rose.

"Are we in luck or what? She is just my type. Can I play with her sometime?"

"What? Our guardian is a female?" This time it was Subaru's turn to scowl, evidently not content with what he was hearing.

"A very young and pretty one at that," Laito raved as he gathered the stapled pages in his free hand and started skimming through the documents on her background. "Mukami Reiko, a latent vampire, daughter of a pureborn and a mortal woman."

Such unorthodox unions were rare but not forbidden. Couples of this conjugality, especially the immortal however, were often frowned upon by the vampire society. Nearly all pureborns would want to copulate with their own kind, so they could breed the strongest vampires by preserving their bloodline.

With her half vampire and half human heritage, this new guardian of theirs might as well have been a new demonic race compared to Shu's background. Not that it mattered to him. He'd learned to look beyond the vampires' inbred society at a very young age since he'd stumbled upon the truth of him and his brothers' very own existences were mere empirical experiment for _that_ _man_ in creating a new race.

"What the hell do you mean she's a latent vampire?" Ayato's eyes changed, confused.

"It said in the report here that something had gone wrong in the womb of the mother and she's been born with most of the known vampire abilities except…"

There was an unexpected pause.

"Except what?" Kanato pressed. Even the hysterical one was showing some interest.

…Except she's human," Laito finished his sentence with his brows furrowed together, almost doubtful that he was reading the report correctly.

 _A human girl with vampire abilities? What a messed up progeny,_ Shu mused to himself with his eyes closed.

He could imagine she didn't lead an easy life by any means. She was truly set apart in her flawed generation and walked in a unique path where both the mortal and immortal realms wouldn't have accepted her for what she was.

In other words, she was an outcast from both worlds.

"Her parents were murdered when she was eleven," Laito continued. "At age thirteen, she was adopted by the Mukami brothers and has resided with them ever since. At age fifteen, she moved to New York alone and from there, she became a vampire huntress who hunted rogues for a living in the past two years."

It'd gone unnoticed to his brothers, but Shu caught the gap in her record and he wondered what had happened during the time after the death of her parents and before her adoption. There appeared to be something amiss about her background information.

Laito tossed down the remaining unread report back onto the billiard table when Ayato spoke again. "Why did _he_ choose her to be our new guardian?"

"You can never figure out what he is scheming," there was an edge of violent anger in Subaru's voice.

Ayato turned to him with a smirk. "Then why don't you go and ask him directly to find out? That is if you're not afraid to face his wrath when you question his decision."

Subaru snorted and turned his head away. "I will kill him one day, when I am strong enough."

Shu did not doubt his words for a second. The fire in his eyes and the strength in his voice mirrored the other Sakamaki brothers, including Shu himself. Besides being born from the same father, the only thing they all had in common was the rage and hatred they shared towards that man. Enough to want him dead.

"You should watch your mouth. You never know who is eavesdropping around here," Laito warned with an uncharacteristic sternness as he abruptly spun around to throw his dart at an intruder who was leaning against the wall next to the dart board.

The intruder with a full face carbon black motorcycle helmet dodged the flying dart effortlessly with a tilt of the head to the right. Judging from the fitted black leather jacket that fully outlined the feminine curves, and the vintage skin tight black denim jeans with a pair of matching colored heeled boots; it was obvious that the intruder was a woman.

"I'm not sure if you were trying to aim for me or the board," her voice was feminine but it had a lower pitch than most females. As she removed her helmet her long silver hair, which had been tucked away, flowed down to her back and her profile came into view. "But if you were aiming for the board then you were way off the mark."

Laito looked amazed but slowly smiled at her. "I was actually aiming for you."

She ran her fingers through her hair, her eyes amused. "Really? Too bad you still missed your target then."

"Who the hell are you?!" Ayato demanded angrily, displeased that her presence was almost undetected among a group of pureborns. "How did you even break in here?!"

Without tearing away his gaze from her, Laito shut him up when he flashed the photo right under his nose. Shu saw the surprise in Ayato's eyes as realization struck him. "You're our new guardian?!"

"You ask so many questions like a child," she ignored the threatening glare that Ayato was giving her and walked towards them with a confident sway in her hips. Her heels clacking as they connected with the hardwood floor.

"My name is Reiko-"

Her sentence was cut short the moment she placed down her helmet and saw the report of her background laying on top of the billiard table's surface. If she was surprised or annoyed, then she was doing one hell of a job at hiding it with her current unreadable expression.

"Not that you guys didn't know that already anyways."

She lifted her head to stare at Laito as she bridged their distance, close enough that their bodies were almost touching. She took the photo from his hand. Once the girl got what she wanted, she immediately moved away to lean her hip against the edge of the table. Laito's disappointment was clear on his face. Her lips curved ever so slightly while looking down at the photo.

"I'm surprised you guys managed to find this old picture of mine. My hair was quite short back then, huh?"

"Why did he hire you?" Subaru queried, cutting down to the chase.

She lifted a delicate brow at him. " _He_? You mean your father, Karlheinz? You don't even address your parent properly? Just how spoiled can you brothers be?"

"Cut the crap or I will do it for you by slicing off your tongue," Subaru warned, his tone filled with menace and pure fury. "Stop spouting nonsense as if you know what's been going on in this household. You are only an outsider!"

Instead of cowering away from the outburst like a normal human would, this girl stood her ground with her eyes narrowed. Interesting. Shu decided that she would be one tough minion to subdue, which would only make things all the more interesting and satisfying once they broke her. Ultimately she would just become another toy for the Sakamaki brothers to play with.

"Why don't you ask your father why he chose to hire me instead? But make sure you don't kill him before you get an answer from him first, since I'm curious to know myself."

Her casual remark incited a chuckle from Laito but Subaru was far from being amused. He was quite antagonized by her sarcasm. With a growl, he charged towards her in an attempt to punish her for speaking out of place as a mere human servant. She pulled out a silver gun from her waist and pointed it directly at him, halting his steps.

"A gun? Really?" This time Subaru laughed in amusement. "You think you can hurt me with a gun?"

"Unless I had a death wish, I'm certainly not stupid enough to aim a regular gun at a pureblood vampire. The silver bullets are specially made to incapacitate pureborns like you. So I suggest you to back off because this will hurt like hell."

"I call it a bluff," Ayato placed his hand on Subaru's shoulder, trying to instigate the youngest one to continue with his attack. "Don't let her intimidate you so easily, Subaru."

Subaru flung away his hand and glowered. "Who said I was intimated by her?!"

As if to prove his words, he lunged at her again but a loud bang deafened their ears when Subaru dropped to one knee. Yui gasped in horror with her hands over her mouth; while the others became instantly on guard after realizing she'd meant business and would show no hesitation in harming them despite her role as their guardian. Subaru cried out in what appeared to be excruciating pain as he clutched his left thigh.

"I warned you that it would hurt," she said as she put away her gun. Not even a hint of remorse was in her voice.

"You are going to regret this," he sneered, gritting his teeth.

Knowing that the injury wasn't severe, Shu watched impassively as Subaru dug inside the skin that she broke, trying to extract the ammo with his finger. After several seconds, he finally succeeded in clawing out the silver bullet. The object may have been withdrawn, but the pain evidently remained since Subaru couldn't even rise to his feet.

"You psychotic bitch," Ayato was squaring his shoulders, ready for a fight. He was enraged that she had the nerve to hurt a Sakamaki. "What kind of guardian are you to inflict injuries on one of us like this?!"

"Your father granted me the permission to deliver any form of punishment I see fit to modify your behavior accordingly."

"Does that mean we can also do whatever we want with you for your future mishaps as our guardian too?" Shu asked, shooting her a mocking look.

Her vibrant sapphire eyes met his for the first time. "What do you mean by that?"

"What do you think I mean?" Whether her guess was correct or not, Shu wasn't planning on offering her an elaborated answer. She could let her imagination run wild. In fact, he welcomed it.

"I don't know about Shu since he's the most unmotivated one among us," While being momentary distracted, Laito appeared behind her in the blink of an eye. He snaked his arm around her midsection just below her breasts as he buried his face in her neck. "But I know what I'd want to do to you all night long."

The human girl vanished only to reappear in a flash on top of the billiard table, standing and watching them emotionlessly. So the report was true, she was indeed a human who possessed the strengths and abilities of a vampire.

"I'm here to be your guardian, not your plaything," she turned to Yui suddenly, startling the girl. "No offense to you, by the way."

"Enough," a voice boomed by the entrance and Reiji entered the room. His attention flew to the girl right away, yet he didn't seem at all surprised by the uninvited presence of a complete stranger inside their mansion. "Standing on the table is unacceptable. Get down this instant before I come over to remove you myself."

Masato appeared beside Reiji and bowed in her direction. "Miss. Mukami, I have already retrieved your luggage from your vehicle. Please allow me to guide you to your chamber."

"I guess playtime is over, boys," she declared with feigned disappointment as she jumped down from the table in a swift motion.

As she was walking towards Masato, she gazed at Shu from across the room one last time. Her stare lingered longer than he expected before she turned to go while keeping her own thoughts to herself. She had fortitude like a true vampire huntress, Shu confirmed. But it only made him want to destroy that man's puppet even more.

 **X X X**

 **AUTHOR NOTE:**

Phew, this scene ended up being a lot longer than I anticipated but I was having so much fun writing the Sakamaki brothers in here lol. This is honestly the first time for me to write story with so many dark, sadistic characters and I actually enjoy it very much…but does that make me twisted? _*sweatdrops*_

Thank you for all the reviews / favorites / follows in chapter one so far. It was really nice to see readers were interested in the story despite it being the first chapter only. Special thanks to **VampireSiren** , **VampWolf** , **Guest** , **Blue-Phoenix311** and **princess-snow510** for taking a bit of your time to leave me the lovely reviews! I hope everyone will continue supporting me throughout this story.

Out of curiosity, obviously my favorite characters are Shu and Ruki since they are so good looking, so my question for you is: Which brother is YOUR favorite character?

Thanks again for reading, I promise to update soon!


	3. Chapter 3: Reunion

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Diabolik Lovers. This amazing anime was created by Seiko Nagatsu. I only created Reiko.

 ** _Editor / Beta Reader: Waffle (Thank you)_**

 _Rated_ _ **Teen**_ _for violence, blood, coarse language and / or sexually suggestive scenes (rating_ _ **may**_ _change to Mature in the future as story progresses, readers have been advised)._

 **XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX**

 **Bound To Shadows**

 **By: Swanna**

 **XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX**

 **Chapter 3: Reunion**

Reiko followed the second oldest son, Reiji, as he led the way to her newly appointed bedroom. Their family butler, Masato, trailed closely behind while carrying her duffle bag and black leather suitcase in his hands.

As they proceeded up the stairs, she couldn't help but notice that the Sakamaki's mansion was embellished with extravagant china and vases; whitewashed masonry walls stood unadorned except for the occasional extraordinarily realistic paintings. Antique furniture was arranged in approved Architectural Digest settings and a patterned rug laid in the middle of the mid-toned polished floorboards. Everything screamed expensive.

"The accessories, furnishings and fabrics were all designed to showcase the Sakamaki's wealth and status," Masato stated abruptly in his low voice, as if he could read her mind.

But she knew it was impossible since mindreading wasn't on the list of vampire abilities last time she'd checked.

Reiko took a good glance at the young butler with dark hair and emerald eyes. He had a pacific look; an air of gentleness. But she knew all too well that looks could be deceiving and if she so much as breathed wrong in this household, she would be killed.

Reiji snickered softly. "A bare room would be considered lacking in taste. Not that I'd expect the likes of you to understand."

"Yeah, you're probably right," she walked up to him, deliberately brushing past his shoulder. "But you also seem to show a lack of modesty too."

The arrogant smirk vanished instantly and his calm tone became more malicious. "What did you say?"

"What I'm saying is to be more humble and less condescending. But don't worry, as your new guardian, I will make sure we work on that," she gave him a wink and patted him on the shoulder before walking off into the extended hallway with multiple doors.

After a few seconds of walking they stopped in front of a door at the end of the corridor. Masato opened the door and was present with a beautiful white over gold Victorian chamber, with rich carvings on the spacious bed's headboard and night tables. There was a lavish dressing table with a vanity mirror, and a coordinated bench and pouf. It was a sight straight out of a fairy tale, except Reiko was no princess, but rather a shackled babysitter.

"I hope this is to your liking, Miss. Makami?" Masato asked politely.

"Just call me Reiko, and the room is very elegant and _tasteful_ ," she decided to give an undisguised answer, purposely emphasizing the last word.

After all, Reiko was still grateful for the thoughtful arrangement, even if the Sakamaki brothers didn't seem to welcome her presence. On her way here, she had to constantly reminded herself the reason why she gave up the life she'd built in New York to return to a place she had fled from two years ago. The truth was, she didn't want to return to this place. She didn't want to return to her old life. But there was a debt to repay and she didn't intend to forget that.

"At least you're honest," Reiji snorted at her. "You can settle down first and we will go through some house rules with you later."

"House rules? Really?" Reiko almost laughed.

She had a nudging suspicion that one of the rules was not to stand on the table. Sadly she had already broken that rule upon her arrival in less than ten minutes.

"You're here as a servant, not a guest. Of course there will be rules for you to follow and abide to." He threw a disapproving glare at her before turning his heels to leave the room.

The butler placed her luggage at the corner of the door and bowed as he dismissed himself. Letting out a quiet sigh, Reiko walked over to the soft mattress and sunk into it. Finally she was able to fall into a more relaxed stance now that she was alone in the room.

"Servant huh?" she said to the room, eyes fixated on the ceiling.

Reiko narrowed her eyes slightly, thinking back to her first encounter with the Sakamaki brothers just a moment ago and the incident with Subaru. Hurting him was never her intention, it was a mistake; and that first mistake had marked her as a target. Beyond doubt, it declared who she was even more clearly, even more decisively than the file they had on her. It showed the brothers how she thought, what she felt – what she was beneath her skin.

Their father had already forewarned her of the brothers' savage behavior and she knew they wouldn't play nice. But Reiko was no sitting duck for her opponents either. If they wanted to play games then she would be more than willing to participate. Though she knew her hands would be full with the six of them, she never expected it to be easy to repay the debt she owed to Karlheinz.

Truth be told, Reiko wasn't as fearless as she'd portrayed herself in the living room. She was highly aware of the purebloods' capabilities and potential. They could break her spirit if they wanted. They could kill her if they wanted. And in the days to come, her ingenious weapons and gadgets would only become ineffective against them. It would only be a matter of time before one of the Sakamaki brothers got their hands on her. Then Reiko would be forced to use her power to survive. Power that she had forbidden herself from using as she had limited control over it.

Reiko sighed again, only deeper and louder this time. She stared out at the arched windows and could see the sun was setting, a red flattened sphere tangent to the horizon.

 _A little fresh air would be nice_ , she thought to herself, hoping to clear her head from the troubling thoughts. What was to happen would happen, and she would try her best to stay alive in the months to come.

With that determination in mind, Reiko got off the bed and decided to leave the room. The moment she opened the door she almost stumbled into Reiji, who had returned with a female school uniform in his hand.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Out," she told him boldly.

"Return to your room and change into the uniform that I have prepared for you immediately. We have school tonight."

It didn't come as a surprise to know that the Sakamaki brothers attended night school. Especially since vampires were primarily nocturnal creatures and were active during nighttime. Both purebloods and vampires that were formerly humans had no issues basking in the sunlight, despite what had been portrayed in horror movies. However they were much slower during daylight hours, though Reiko fortunately did not share their weakness due to her human genes.

"Technically I don't start my job until tomorrow, so I think I'll pass," she answered as she tried to walk away, but Reiji lifted his arm and blocked her path. Reiko tried to duck under the arm but he closed the gap, making her escape impossible.

"Don't make me repeat myself again," he said threateningly. "I don't like repeating myself."

The haughty note in his voice made Reiko's lips tighten. Granted, she hadn't been as polite as she could have been. Being tired and jetlagged had contributed to her mood, but she didn't like being bossed around. She wasn't one of the brothers' subjects. They seemed to disregard the fact that she was half vampire. They couldn't tell her what to do.

"And what if I say no and insist on walking out your front door? What will you do then? Are you going to kill me?" She stepped toward him, her face close to his as she challenged him. "I'm not so sure that it's a bright idea to kill the guardian that your father specifically chose for you. He will be very displeased with _you_ when he finds out, and you know he will find out because he knows everything."

Reiji knitted his eyebrows at the mention of Karlheinz, not expecting her to see through his weakness. But he recovered rather quickly as the corner of his lips lifted in a scornful smirk, almost pleased.

"I see you've done your homework already," he said.

"You're not the only one going around digging up another's past, and I'm just trying to even the playing field. Having said that," she placed her hand on top of his arm and brought it down to his side so she could move past him. "I will see you in the morning, so don't wait up."

With a smile on her face, she walked out of the hallway and headed for the door. This time, the second eldest son of the Sakamaki household did not make any further attempts to stop her.

 **X X X**

An hour ago, Reiko arrived in front of a photoshoot studio and parked her motorcycle in the parking lot. If her sources were right, then the person she'd come all the way here to see should be coming out soon. She removed her helmet before getting off the vehicle, still feeling a bit nervous. No, very nervous and exhilarated at the same time. It had been two years since she'd returned to Japan and she was eager to meet _him_ even though he would most likely give her hell for leaving without a satisfactory explanation.

Reiko looked over at the studio's entrance but didn't see anyone there. She leaned against her motorcycle and waited patiently for twenty minutes, thinking she hadn't eaten since her flight landed this afternoon. Just as she took her mobile phone out and was about to look for the closest eatery, out walked Kou and a human girl.

Kou walked over to a car, looking cool and handsome as an idol. He was wearing blue jeans and a black linen shirt. His hairstyle had changed though, his bangs had grown a lot longer than she'd remembered. They fell over the right side of his face.

She watched as Kou placed his arm on top of the car beside the girl's head, while his other free hand was now roaming down her body and back up, trapping her in place. He leaned in closer to whisper sweet nothings to her, and she instantly became even more spellbound as her eyes blinked dazedly in the darkness before shutting closed. The poor girl was so mesmerized by his beauty that she wasn't even aware of the slow, wicked smile Kou had on his face. Sharp fangs were exposed as he opened his mouth wider.

Reiko took that as a cue to rush over silently and clasped her hand over his mouth, pulling him back. Kou struggled immediately and would have fought back, but the moment he took a good look at his assailant, he was petrified with a start.

"How dare you have another girl here when I'm not around," said Reiko, grinning from ear to ear at Kou's shocked expression, as if he had seen a ghost. She turned to the girl who was staring back at them in absolute confusion, oblivious to what was happening.

"I'm sorry, but I have a date with Kou tonight," Reiko lied. She placed her hands on both sides of his waist and deliberately ran her hands around his back, pulling him against her chest in an effort to convince the girl to leave. "And you can't join us, because I don't like to share."

Reiko felt a pinch of guilt as she watched tears welling up in the human girl's eyes. But she told herself that she was only doing what had to be done, and this girl would be a lot more grateful if she knew that she had been saved from an inbred vampire's attack.

"You asshole," the girl yelled at Kou before running away from them.

"Ouch," Reiko mocked while releasing her hands from Kou. But he suddenly reached around and pulled her tightly against him before she had a chance to react. "What are you doing?"

"I thought we have a date so I'm just doing what I usually do on my dates," he answered in a calm, teasing tone as he grabbed her chin in his hand and held her still. He would have kissed her closed lips if she didn't shove him away in time.

"Very funny," she glared at him. "You got issues, brother."

" _Me_?" his voice rose and Reiko could already feel the anger vibrating off of him. "Did you forget that you were the one who left us without a word and wouldn't speak to me for two years? Then you decided to come back without telling any of us and you just randomly show up in front of me, feeling me up and you tell me that _I_ have issues?"

Reiko knew it wouldn't be easy. But she certainly didn't expect it to be this strenuous either, facing him for the first time since she'd left. Although the five of them had no blood relation to one another, their bonds were evidently stronger than siblings born from same parents. She didn't blame Kou for his resentment and harsh words, since she did abandon the family. Her brothers had every right to be angry with her.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly as she leaned against his car. Obviously it was all she intended to say.

"Was it because of Ruki?" Her eyes widened, and Reiko tried desperately to recover from the shock of the unexpected question. Her expression must have betrayed her when Kou sighed softly and said, "I knew it."

A part of her had hoped that there would be no lingering feelings when someone mentioned Mukami Ruki. But the other part knew that the mention of his name would tear open the still weeping wound in her heart. Closing her eyes, she felt the pain as if it were only yesterday.

When she opened her eyes again to stare into Kou's face, she saw nothing but understanding there, a willingness to understand. He came up close and rested his back against the car next to her.

A long moment of uncomfortable silence passed before he spoke again.

"Does he know that you've returned?"

"No, and I don't plan on telling him either."

If he knew, then she'd never be able to find the courage to leave the second time. She was hoping that if she stayed away long enough, she would forget about him and move on.

"I guess even if I ask what happened between you two, you still wouldn't tell me, right?"

Reiko paused for a few seconds again.

"I've tried asking Ruki but he refused to tell me anything either. But I know that he actually thinks of y-"

"How are Yuma and Azusa doing?" she asked, changing the topic. Maybe she was still not ready to talk about Ruki yet.

"They're the same, nothing much has changed with them," he answered with a frown, not appreciating her diversion.

"Sure there has. Even you've become an idol now," she smiled genuinely at her brother for the first time in the night.

He smirked. "It makes it easier to lure my prey. A man's gotta eat somehow, you know?"

"Feeding only," she made sure he didn't miss the sternness in her voice. She didn't think she could bring herself to kill her brothers if they were ever wanted on the death list.

As if Kou was reading her mind, he asked, "I heard you've become a vampire hunter in New York. How's that going for you?"

Reiko gave an indifferent shrug. "Not bad. I get to enjoy the thrill and the pay's good. A woman's gotta feed herself somehow, you know?"

"What brought you back to Japan then if everything was going so well for you in the States?"

"Karlheinz's asked me to become a guardian for his sons."

"Karlheinz?!" This time it was Kou who looked at her with wide eyes, stunned at the new revelation. "Why so sudden? And why a guardian?"

"He didn't explain and I didn't want to impose either. After all, I do owe that man my life."

As a matter of fact, all five of them were saved by Karlheinz and were willing to serve him unconditionally. For her brothers, they were turned by the Vampire King and were granted a second chance at life. As for Reiko, she would have continued to be held as a captive in a foreign country shortly after being orphaned. An experimental lab rat would have been a fitting label.

Reiko probably would've been dead by now if she had not, by chance, ran into Karlheinz. The Vampire King had lavished her with nothing but kindness as he'd taken her in and brought her back to Japan. Back to her home. How she had managed to break out of her cage and escaped was a blur now. The fact that her traumatic experience had left her with a few psychological scars was unsurprising.

"How is that going for you at the Sakamaki's household?" Kou's question reeled her mind from the horrors of her past and back to the reality.

"The brothers are certainly no princes, but they do have a very luxurious mansion and everything looks expensive. I have to be careful not to break anything there because it will cost me an arm and a leg, which I have none to spare."

Kou snorted in disgust. "They're just a bunch of spoiled brats, that's what they are. They don't know anything about hardship."

Speaking of the Sakamaki brothers, Reiko couldn't help mentally reviewing the looks the oldest son had been giving her. It had been a look of wonder at what she would do next under their roof. He was no threat but he wasn't afraid of her either. None of the brothers were.

"Yuma and Azusa would be excited to know that you're back. Especially Azusa, he was so sad when you've left," Kou said. He kept his gaze for a bit, then looked toward the street.

"I don't want anyone else to know that I've returned to Japan yet." Reiko's heart almost sunk when she said those words. "I promise I will see Yuma and Azusa once I settle down but I need some time."

Although the five of them were close, it had always been easier to open up with Kou, partly because he was always with her, but also because he wasn't Ruki. It'd always been easy to talk to him, but never about her non-reciprocated feelings for their oldest brother. So she could only hope that Kou, of all people, would understand and respect her decision.

Kou looked as if he wanted to say something but decided against it and simply nodded. She thanked him as they stood next to each other wordlessly again.

Reiko knew it was inevitable that she would meet Ruki eventually, but for now she was more determined than ever to fulfill the task that had been assigned by Karlheinz. Tomorrow she would be facing the Sakamaki brothers for the first time as their new guardian.

 **X X X**

 **AUTHOR NOTE:**

I am truly sorry for the long delay. I really have no excuse to justify myself. I've simply lost the motivation to write due to my busy personal life and work, and I apologize for that *sweatdrops*.

I do want to thank the readers who have been following this story patiently. I may update the chapters out slower than many authors but I can promise that I will not give up my stories. I will also try to post new chapters more frequently, no more long breaks like the last one. Funny thing was even my beta reader, Waffle has forgotten about the plot since it's been so long lol…

But thank to my recent trip to Japan, I found the inspiration to write again! Visiting castles and shrines have really helped me to get back into the mood lol. It was my first time visiting Japan and I will definitely go there again. I also bought six nendoroids (yes, I am very obsessed with them), had to buy a new suitcase for those haha but it was worth it!

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as we finally have a glimpse of Reiko's past. But what happened between her and Ruki? Well, guess you will have to stay tune to find out more!

Please let me know what you guys think – as usual, feedback and reviews are always appreciated!

Thank you all and see you in Chapter 4!


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